I must warn you before you think about starting to design your own; it will become very addicting. Perhaps worse than the game itself, if that is possible. Before I started out, I had minimal knowledge of Paint Shop Pro, now I can't get away from it. Not only do I love making wallpaper, I've attempted a few other projects. So watch out, you may develop another addiction.

Through searching for wallpaper tutorials, I found only a few out there. The easiest one I found to follow and provides the best information is the tutorial at SimGoddesses. The tutorial is for Paint Shop Pro 7, which you can download a trial version of. I had never used Paint Shop Pro before I decided to try following the tutorial at SimGoddesses; but I had no major problems with completing the tutorial. SimFreaks provides a tutorial that will also help you get started. It is a short tutorial that offers great advice on getting your patterns to be seamless.

Before you start creating wallpaper, you will need graphics. The best backgrounds are seamless, so you may want to check out some texture sites and perhaps free clipart and graphic sites. If you already have knowledge of a graphics program, you probably already have some textures you've created that may look good as wallpaper.

It's important to remember that to create quality wallpaper, you need to have a good knowledge of the graphics program you are using. That way you will know the different effects, have the ability to create original images, and most importantly feel at ease with the program. Some graphics programs you may want to try out are: Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop, and Ulead PhotoImpact.

In order for you to convert you image files into .wll files (wallpaper file format), you will need to download Homecrafter from the official "The Sims" Website. This program allows you to view your wallpaper in a Sim house, and export the file to your wallpaper folder. If you need help with Homecrafter there is a tutorial provided. Look in your Homecrafter directory for a tutorial directory.

Trust me, your first few attempts will go right to the recycle bin. With some patience and persistence, you'll be creating top notch wallpaper before you know it. And maybe someday, you'll have your own sim site for the wallpaper you've created.